Feds failed to control L.A. brush

Woulda, coulda, shoulda: That’s what the Feds are saying about burning highly flammable brush near the Los Angeles urban area to prevent just the kind of wildfire burning there now:

Months before the huge blaze erupted, the U.S. Forest Service obtained permits to burn away the undergrowth and brush on more than 1,700 acres of the Angeles National Forest. But just 193 acres had been cleared by the time the fire broke out, Forest Service resource officer Steve Bear said.

The agency defended its efforts, saying weather, wind and environmental rules tightly limit how often these “prescribed burns” can be conducted.

Bear said crews using machinery and hand tools managed to trim 5,000 acres in the forest this year before the money ran out.

One things for sure: Containing a wildfire is a lot more expensive than preventing it. And it doesn’t do much for the weather, either.